BRUSSELS was yesterday accused of a “land grab” after proposing to take control of Britain’s seabed.

If approved, it would enable EU fishing boats to trawl the seabed off our coast for species such as cockles and mussels.

The proposal will be debated today in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. It was submitted by the Parliament’s Fisheries Committee as an amendment to the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Amendment 63 will change the definition of EU waters to include the seabed. But critics claimed it would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to the EU claiming control of rights to minerals such as oil and gas.

And that could put the EU on a collision course with the Crown Estate, which manages half of the foreshore around the UK coastline out to 12 nautical miles. The proposal was spotted by UKIP MEP and Fisheries spokesman Stuart Agnew.

He said: “It has massive ramifications as it leaves question marks over future mineral and energy exploration on Britain’s seabed. The British people, Parliament and Her Majesty the Queen will also be alarmed to discover that Amendment 63 would create a new power without a word of objection by Government or Tories.

“That power is sovereignty over the seabed as opposed to merely controlling the fish in the water above it.”

Tory MP Mark Pritchard said: “This is a clumsy attempt by Brussels to take land which should remain under the sovereignty of the UK.”

Fisheries minister Richard Benyon said the UK will oppose the amendment

This is a clumsy attempt by Brussels to take land which should remain under the sovereignty of the UK.

Tory MP Mark Pritchard

The amendment changes the meaning of the term “Union waters” from the European Commission’s proposal – “the waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Member States” – to “the waters and the seabed under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Member States”.

Last night the Crown Estate said its role would “remain unaffected” because it does not regulate fisheries.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said fish on the seabed are covered by the CFP. It said the amendment did not have any bearing on mineral extraction. Fisheries minister Richard Benyon said the UK will oppose the amendment as it did not help reform the CFP.

An EC spokesman insisted: “It is not about transfer of powers to the EU, nor seizure of the power over the seabed.” Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said the CFP is intended to stop over-fishing and boost stocks.